2016 STANLEY CUP FINAL IS MOST-WATCHED NON-ORIGINAL SIX SERIES IN 15 YEARS

Game 6 Averages 5.407 Million Viewers; Expected to Win the Night in Advertiser-Coveted P18-49 Demo Among Broadcast Networks

Pittsburgh and San Jose Record Ratings Milestones Throughout Final

Stanley Cup Playoffs Average 1.227 Million Viewers Across Networks of NBCUniversal

2016 Delivers Most-Streamed Stanley Cup Playoffs and Final Ever

STAMFORD, Conn. – June 13, 2016 – The six-game 2016 Stanley Cup Final featuring the Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks averaged nearly 4 million viewers (3.948 million), making it the most-watched non-Original Six series in 15 years, according to Fast National Ratings by The Nielsen Company.

Game 6, in which the Pittsburgh Penguins won their first Stanley Cup since 2009 with a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., averaged 5.407 million viewers, making it NBC’s most-watched non-Original Six Stanley Cup Final game ever. The game is expected to win the night in the advertiser-coveted P18-49 demo (1.9) among broadcast networks when the final numbers are confirmed tomorrow.

STANLEY CUP FINAL

The 2016 Stanley Cup Final on NBC/NBCSN averaged nearly 4 million viewers (3.948 million) to stand as the best Stanley Cup Final without an Original Six* team since 2001 (NJ/COL, 4.309 million, ABC/ESPN). Viewership was up 31% vs. the 2012 Stanley Cup Final (3.012 million), the last Cup Final to feature two non-Original Six teams (NJ/LA). The Final averaged a 2.3 HH rating across the six games on NBC/NBCSN.

The 2016 Stanley Cup Final averaged a 31.7 rating in Pittsburgh on NBC/NBCSN, up 5% from the 2008 Penguins-Red Wings Stanley Cup Final six-game average on NBC/Versus (30.1), and up 10% vs. the 2009 Cup Final six-game average featuring the same two teams (28.7; series ultimately went to seven games). On NBC, the four games averaged a 34.3 rating in Pittsburgh, up from the average Pittsburgh rating on NBC in 2008 (34.0; 4 games) and 2009 (32.2; 5 games).

In the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose market, the Final posted a 7.0 rating on NBC/NBCSN, up 79% from the average rating in the market during the 2016 Western Conference Final (3.9). The rating increased each game in the market, culminating with a 9.2 rating for last night’s Game 6, the highest-rated Sharks game ever on the networks of NBCUniversal in the SF/OAK/SJ market.

Following are the Top 10 Markets for the 2016 Stanley Cup Final

Rank

Metered Market

Rating

1

Pittsburgh

31.7

2

San Fran/Oakland/San Jose

7.0

3

Buffalo

5.8

4

Minneapolis-St. Paul

4.2

5

Denver

4.1

6

West Palm Beach

3.9

7

Boston

3.7

8

Sacramento

3.6

8

St. Louis

3.6

8

Raleigh-Durham

3.6

GAME 6

Last night’s Game 6 (8:07-11:02 p.m. ET) averaged 5.407 million viewers and produced a 3.1 rating to rank as NBC’s most-watched Stanley Cup Final game without an Original Six team. The game peaked with nearly 6.9 million viewers (6.851 million) from 10:30-10:45 p.m. ET, as the Penguins held onto their lead in the waning moments of the third period. Viewership of last night’s Game 6 was up 10% vs. the 2012 NJ/LA Game 6 (4.929 million), the last Final to not feature an Original Six team.

Game 6 registered a 9.2 rating in the San Francisco/San Jose/Oakland market, the best-ever for a Sharks game on the networks of NBCUniversal. Pittsburgh was the nation’s top market for Game 6, registering a 35.1 for the series-clinching contest.

Following are the Top 10 Markets for Game 6:

Rank

Metered Market

Rating

1

Pittsburgh

35.1

2

San Fran/Oakland/San Jose

9.2

3

Buffalo

8.6

4

Minneapolis-St. Paul

6.2

5

St. Louis

5.8

6

West Palm Beach

5.3

7

Sacramento

4.8

8

Chicago

4.7

9

Boston

4.6

10

Raleigh-Durham

4.5

10

Milwaukee

4.5

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

Across all 89 games on NBC/NBCSN/CNBC/USA Network, the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs averaged 1.227 million viewers. It is the eighth consecutive year that the Playoffs have averaged more than 1.2 million viewers.

Following are the Top 10 Markets for Stanley Cup Playoffs:

Rank

Metered Market

Rating

1

Pittsburgh

6.3

2

St. Louis

3.5

3

Buffalo

2.4

4

Tampa

1.8

5

Chicago

1.4

5

Denver

1.4

7

West Palm Beach

1.3

7

Minneapolis-St. Paul

1.3

7

Washington D.C.

1.3

7

Boston

1.3

NBC SPORTS.COM AND THE NBC SPORTS APP

The 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs and Stanley Cup Final on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app were the most-streamed in history. The 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs delivered 417.0 million minutes, up 65% vs. the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs (252.4 million). The Final produced 72.3 million minutes, up 32% vs. 2015 (54.7 million). The Playoffs and Final produced 1.8 million and 593,000 uniques, respectively.

Last night’s Game 6 delivered 12 million minutes, second-most ever for an NBC game, behind last year’s Cup-clinching Game 6 (12.7 million, Chi-T.B.). NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app are powered by Playmaker Media.

*Original Six references the six original NHL franchises: Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, N.Y. Rangers, and Toronto.